“Good points,” Terri murmured as she thought it all through. Dave could have warned her privately last night before that meeting with Simon Baxter. He could have confessed the truth about Cooper’s plan and then sworn her to secrecy. But he hadn’t. So no matter how Dave tried to paint himself, he wasn’t a good guy. Terri looked at Jan. “Either Dave’s lying or Cooper was last night—and for the past couple of weeks.”
“How do we tell?”
“I don’t know that we can.” Terri was disgusted, disappointed and so damn tired of feeling hurt. Had he really been lying to her all this time? Had she trusted, loved a man who had never intended to care?
“So,” her friend finally said, “what’s next? What do you want to do?”
What she wanted to do was face Cooper. To tell him he’d lost. To tell him that she loved him, but he’d lost that, too. And she would.
But first, “Would you call downstairs, Jan? Get the valets to bring my car around?”
“You’re leaving?” Surprise flickered in Jan’s eyes. “What happened to you not letting Cooper chase you away? What happened to my great new job?”
“I’m not leaving. Well, not for long. I’m going to find Cooper, and then you and I are driving to St. George to see my mom and pick up my dog.”
“Okay...”
“Then we’re coming back here.” Terri’s gaze was clear and sharp. “And we’re both going to get to work.”
“Wahoo!”
* * *
Fifteen minutes later Jan was downstairs and Terri was knocking on the door to Cooper’s suite right down the hall. Mentally, she rehearsed just what she would say to him when he opened it. She would stare him down, tell him that she loved him but was determined to get over it. She’d tell him that she was staying in Vegas, no matter what he did to try to make her leave. She would look into his blue eyes and try not to wish that everything was different. But everything in her mind dried up and blew away when the door swung open to show her that Cooper had already moved on.
Celeste Vega, wearing nothing more than a towel, gave her an awkward smile.
* * *
Celeste lifted one hand to her mouth in a dramatic fashion, and used her free hand to hold the thick, navy blue towel to her breasts. “Terri! Oh, this is so embarrassing...”
And well thought out, she added silently. Dave had given her his pass key to Cooper’s suite. Celeste’s plan had been to surprise Cooper with her naked self—ready and willing to resume the relationship she’d turned from nearly two years ago.
But having Terri catch her here? That was hard. She hated to see the look of stunned hurt on the other woman’s face, and regret was a new sensation for Celeste. She was used to taking care of herself, no one else. So why did she feel guilty?
“Celeste?” Terri blinked, shook her head and said, “I was looking for Cooper...”
“This is so uncomfortable,” Celeste said, tossing a look toward the hallway over her shoulder as if expecting Cooper to walk into the room any second. She was in so deep now, she had to keep going. Had to make Terri give up on Cooper so Celeste could have another shot at him, So she steeled herself and said, “He’s in the shower, sweetie. I’m just about to join him.”
Nodding, Terri said, “I see. Okay. Well.” She took a deep breath and tried to hide the pain in her eyes. But Celeste saw it and felt another sharp blade of regret slice her heart.
She’d come to Las Vegas to win Cooper back no matter how she had to do it. But hurting Terri was harder than it should have been. Celeste hadn’t expected to care for the other woman. To enjoy the budding friendship that was dying miserably at the moment. But she’d come too far to stop now.
Cooper and Terri were already estranged—Dave had told her that much. This, then, would be the driving wedge that would keep them apart. And that was what Celeste wanted, wasn’t it?
Meeting Terri’s gaze was the hardest thing Celeste had ever done. She felt terrible. A dog. A snake. A worm. And Terri’s simple dignity made her feel even worse.
“I’ll go, then,” Terri said, “and leave you two alone.”
“Terri—” Celeste didn’t want her to be hurt. But this is how it had to be. Still, she wanted to say something to ease Terri’s pain. What, she had no idea. As it turned out, it didn’t matter.
“It’s all right, Celeste,” Terri said softly. “Cooper’s made his choice. Would you tell him that I’m leaving? I’m driving to St. George.”
She frowned. “Where is that?”
“In Utah. My mom lives there. So...” She took another breath. “Just tell him, okay?”
Celeste reached out and took Terri’s arm as she turned to leave. Her gaze fixed on Terri’s, Celeste said, “You really love him, don’t you?”
Inhaling sharply, she answered, “Yes. But don’t hold it against me. I’m sure I’ll get over it.”
* * *
Cooper was done. He’d been dealing with the fallout of Dave’s treachery all day—a couple more of his employees were now looking for jobs thanks to being involved with Dave’s plans. Plus, he’d had to handle all the things Terri had taken on.
After last night he wasn’t surprised that she wasn’t in her office, but he was shocked to realize that she had become so important to the simple running of the business. When had she taken on so much of the day-to-day drivel that went with running a huge company?
“And how the hell does she get anything done with everyone running to her every five minutes with some petty complaint?” He shook his head and looked down the hall toward her suite.
She was in there, no doubt still furious with him, and he really couldn’t blame her. He’d been a bastard. Worse, a blind bastard. Dave had worked her, Cooper had used her and all she’d done was work her ass off.
“And damn it, I miss her.” It wasn’t just his own busy mind keeping him awake the night before. It was being without her. He’d reached for her countless times and found only an empty bed and cold sheets.
He missed her laugh, the shine in her eyes when she was excited by something. He missed hearing her stories about what was happening in his own damn casino and mostly, he just missed her. Her smile. Her scent. Her taste. God. Cooper suddenly felt like he’d been hit over the head with a two-by-four.
He loved Terri Ferguson. When the hell had that happened?
He didn’t want to buy her out. He didn’t want her to leave. He wanted her here. With him. His partner. And so much more. So, just exactly how could he fix this?
He unlocked his door, walked into the suite and stopped at the sound of a familiar voice.
“You’re late.”
Cooper jolted and looked to the couch where Celeste sat, wrapped in one of his bath towels. “Oh, no. Not today. What the hell are you doing here, Celeste?”
“I came to seduce you,” she admitted, rising to her feet with the grace of a ballet dancer.
“Thanks, but no, thanks,” he ground out. He didn’t want her.
He wanted Terri.
Damn it, why hadn’t he gone to her earlier?
“I’ve lost, then, haven’t I?” Celeste dropped the towel to the floor.
Cooper got a full frontal look at one of the most beautiful women in the world—his own ex-lover—and didn’t feel a thing. All he could think was, She’s not Terri. He wondered how the hell she’d gotten in, then figured it had to be Dave.
Celeste picked up her short black dress from where she’d tossed it earlier and shimmied into it. Then she backed up to Cooper and said, “Zip?”
He sighed, zipped her dress and took a step back. “Go away, Celeste. Seriously. I’m not in the mood for whatever you’re playing.”
Turning around to face him, she looked him dead in the eye to say, “Before I go, you should know that Terri was here.”
“What?” He grabbed her upper arms. “When?”
A hot jolt of anger erupted. At her. At himself for letting it come to this. “Damn you, Celeste. Why the hell would you do that to her? She likes you.”
“Because I wanted you back,” she said, fluffing her hair then smoothing her palms over her hips. “I decided that I could get rid of Terri and have you to myself.”
“No, you can’t,” he said tightly. “What we had is long dead, Celeste. Not interested in a replay.”
Her eyebrows arched. “Not kind, but sadly a truth I’m forced to accept. I don’t like it. Comfortable lies are so much easier to live with than hard truths.
“Do you know, until I met Terri, I hadn’t told the truth to people in years. Somehow, I think she infected me with her honesty.” Smiling wryly, she said, “She was my friend and I’ve ruined that now. I’m sorry for it.”
“You’ve ruined a hell of a lot more than that.”
“No. More truth for you, Cooper. The ruin between you and Terri, you’ve done yourself. She’s not like us, Cooper,” Celeste said. “She’s real. When she offers her heart, it has no strings. No expectation for reward. It simply is.”
Cooper scrubbed both hands across his face. She was right and he knew it. Hell, he’d known it all along. Terri was different. Terri said what she thought and didn’t have a dishonest bone in her body. And he hadn’t trusted her. Because he’d lived for so long looking cynically at everything, he hadn’t recognized honest when it finally showed up.
Damn it. He’d let her get away. He’d had something real. Something most people never found and he’d let it go.
“I’m leaving,” Celeste said. “If you see Terri again—”
“If?”
“—please tell her I’m sorry for hurting her.”
“What do you mean if I see her?” Cooper demanded.
“Didn’t I tell you? She left.”
Panic nearly blinded him. “Left? Left for where?”
“She said to St. George, in Utah somewhere. Her mother’s house.” Celeste swung her black leather bag across her shoulder, opened the door, then stopped. “She loves you, you know.”
“How do you know?” Cooper’s gaze snapped to hers. “Did she tell you that?”
“Yes.”
“Well, she didn’t tell me!” And why the hell not? In the midst of that fight they’d had, why hadn’t she thrown those words at him? Looking for sympathy or an edge into wheedling him around to her way of thinking and—that was exactly why she hadn’t told him.
Terri didn’t play games.
Celeste shook her head at him and asked sadly, “Can you blame her? Don’t be foolish, Cooper. Go after her. I once walked away from you. I don’t recommend it.”
* * *
“Who does this?” Terri demanded as they barreled down the highway toward St. George in her brand-new, shiny red convertible.
Jan stroked the leather dashboard as she would a lover. “Who cares? He bought you a car before he turned into Jerk Of The Year. Call it a win and let it go.”
“It’s not that easy.” Of course Cooper would do something like this. When she’d joined Jan at the valet stand, the car was waiting for her.
“That’s not my car,” she’d said.
“Yes, ma’am, it is,” the valet said. “Mr. Hayes bought it for you a week ago. Said you needed to drive something decent.”
When her eyes fired, the young valet backed up fast and hid in the valet booth. She couldn’t blame him. Naturally, Jan was thrilled with the new car and had hopped right in.
Terri, though, turned and shot a hard look at the top of the hotel as if she could glare at Cooper from there. He just tossed her car aside and got her a new one without bothering to tell her? What kind of person did that?
Cooper had bought this car for her a week ago, back when he was supposedly still softening her up to get rid of her. Why would he do it? And why hadn’t he said anything to her about the car, just waiting to let her discover it on her own? Why wouldn’t he have told her?
But even as she mentally did gymnastics trying to convince herself that Cooper wasn’t really the bastard Jan had named him, Terri remembered Celeste. In his suite. Wearing a towel. About to join said bastard in the shower.
Nothing could have been clearer than that, right? The sting of tears hit her eyes again and she was grateful for the sunglasses she wore. Terri didn’t want Jan to see her cry over him. Heck, she didn’t want to see herself cry any more tears over Cooper. She’d cried a river and it hadn’t helped. Hadn’t changed a thing.
“Come on, Terri, admit it.” Jan shouted to be heard over the roar of the wind. “Your car was on its last legs—wheels. It wasn’t going to last another winter.”
“It didn’t have to make it through snow. It lived in Las Vegas now.”
“And now you have a Vegas car.” Shaking her head and throwing her arms high to feel the wind rushing at them, Jan said, “A shiny, showgirl car! Red convertible, girl! Look on the bright side. You have this great car that had to cost him a fortune. And, you’re not going anywhere, so you’re going to totally ruin his day. Every day.”
Slowly, Terri smiled and stepped harder on the gas. “You have a point. How fast can we get to Mom’s house, do you think?”
Jan grinned. “Let’s find out.”
* * *
Terri didn’t bother to knock. She just walked into the small, lovely house her mother and aunt shared. It was a two-bedroom, two-bath Spanish-style patio home on the golf course. Connie spent most days out on the patio, checking out the retired golfers, looking for her fourth husband.
Terri’s mom spent most days laughing at Connie.
“Mom?” She stepped into the entryway, with Jan right behind her. She’d expected to have her mom and aunt running to greet her. And if not that, at least she had thought her dog would be glad to see her.
“Seems awfully quiet. Maybe they’re not home,” Jan said, peeking into the living room as Terri closed the door. “Uh-oh.”
“What? What’s wrong?” Terri pushed past her and stopped dead when she spotted Cooper, comfortably seated on her mother’s couch, the traitorous Daisy stretched out across his lap. “Cooper—”
“Terri, honey!” Her mother rushed in from the kitchen, carrying a wooden tray holding a frosted pitcher of iced tea, three glasses and a plate of cookies. “You made wonderful time. That new car Cooper gave you must be a wonder to drive.”
“I. He. What?” Terri shook her head, stared from Cooper to her mother and back again. “How do you know about the car?”
“Well, Cooper told me, of course.” Carol Ferguson shook her head, then smoothed her perfect blond hair. “It was a relief to me, I’ll admit it. Your poor old car was running on prayers.”
“A relief,” Cooper repeated softly.
Terri glared at him.
“You should have seen his arrival,” her mother said, practically glowing as she looked at Cooper. “Do you know, his helicopter landed right on the golf course? People will be talking about it for months!”
“Helicopter?”
He shrugged and continued petting Daisy. “My pilot put down quickly, then took off again. I don’t think it did any harm to the course itself.”
“Oh, I’m sure it didn’t,” Carol said. “It was so exciting.”
“I bet,” Terri said.
“Your mom’s been very nice, letting me stay to wait for you,” Cooper said, his long, clever fingers rubbing Daisy’s belly until the dog was a quivering bowl of jelly.
“Your dog’s a traitor,” Jan whispered and walked over to give Terri’s mom a big hug.
“So good to see you, sweetheart,” Mom said. “I love your hair.”
<
br /> Jan grinned, then shifted a hard-eyed look on Cooper. “I’m glad to see you, too, Mom. But I sort of question your taste in guests.”
“Now, Jan...”
“Nice to meet you, too,” Cooper said wryly.
“Why don’t I just go and get a few more glasses for the tea,” Carol said, taking Jan’s arm and dragging her off, too. She called back over her shoulder, “Connie’s assaulting one of the golfers but she should be along soon...”
In the quiet of the living room, Terri felt completely off balance. In a million years, she never would have expected to find Cooper here. With her mom. And her dog. All comfy and cozy.
The living room was bright and cheerful, with a vase of fall flowers in the center of the coffee table. The furniture was plain but good quality and thanks to her mother, the room was tidy, tables polished, the scent of the flowers flavoring the air. The blinds were open, allowing the fall sun to slant into the room and paint gold stripes on the floor.
And while she stalled, looking at a room that she knew as well as her own home, Cooper watched her. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking and she wished she could. But she knew very well what she was feeling, so she went with that.
“Why are you here?”
“Because you are.”
“Cooper—”
“I needed to talk to you, Terri,” he said, “and you’d already left the hotel.”
She shot a dirty look at Daisy who was now doing the dog version of a purr. “I suppose I should thank you for the car.”
“But you don’t want to.”
“No, I don’t.” She shifted her glare to him. “You got rid of my car without so much as asking me.”
“Your car was a disgrace to all cars everywhere.”
She took a breath. Hard to argue that point, but she tried. “It wasn’t any of your business.”
“You’re welcome.”
Daisy sighed and opened one eye to look at Terri as if to say, Don’t ruin this for me.
“I like your dog.”
“She’s apparently a shameless tramp with very low standards in men.”
He winced at that barb. “I also like your mom and her sister. Though your mom warned me to watch out for your aunt Connie.”
Tempt Me in Vegas Page 16